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Dear Lower School Parent,

On Friday, April 18, my family and I were awakened to a sudden shaking and the sound of what I thought was hail hitting the roof. I assumed it was an errant twister rushing down the block; however, after a second or two, I knew it was an earthquake. My mind began racing; all my thoughts were consumed with protecting my family. I remember formulating a plan as I darted out of bed, but before the plan could be fully executed (I did awake my four-year-old, who thought it was thundering outside), everything was still again.

As I think back to that night, I realize that my ability to process and react was focused solely on making sure my family was safe. It was as if my brain switched lens and all I could see were the steps of my plan and how to get there. This is one of the benefits of stress: it helps one survive.

Intense stress on a routine basis is actually quite damaging for children. Studies show that stress caused from the threat of violence (physical, psychological, or emotional) actually destroys brain cells and impairs memory. This is why children need a safe place to go; some children in the world have no refuge from daily violence—not even their school. I find this to be a sad and tragic fact.

However, children who experience consistent, moderate stress levels actually become more resilient. This is one reason why children become energized by academic, whole group games. The moderate stress created from wanting to succeed in a team and in a certain time frame ignites the brain cells.

Scientists also claim that children who feel stress from disappointment have a greater tendency to mobilize their resources and learn from their mistakes. This is one reason why children need to hear the word no. Resiliency is developed as children learn to cope with life and its disappointments. Shielding children from the pain of disappointment is a natural, parental response; however, we must let our children experience such pain if we seek to give them the resiliency to deal with the greater disappointments that will inevitably come.

Openings and switches in the Lower School for 2008–09
As some of you might have heard, a few of our teachers will not be returning next year. Sandy Nakayama and Ellen Herf have both decided to retire from teaching. Both teachers have given so much to KCD and to the many children who spent time in their classrooms. We wish them well as they begin this new stage in their lives. Ginny Reetz, our part time reading enrichment teacher, has decided to stay home full time with her daughter Anna. Ginny’s leadership and initiative was instrumental in making our reading enrichment program a great success this year. All three of these teachers will be missed.

We also have some teachers who will be switching to other grades next year. Liz Gatewood will become our new lower school technology coordinator, and Becky Kennedy and Brina Stephens will move to fourth grade. Kim Kettring, who currently teaches second grade, will move to third. Finally, Sandy Mead will move to second grade.

We will be busy this spring interviewing teachers for fourth grade, third grade, first grade, and a part-time reading enrichment teacher. Because KCD has such a fine reputation, we are already gathering quality resumes. We anticipate a highly competitive pool of candidates for these positions. The teachers and I will work together to find the very best person for each of these positions.

Exploremore on May 16!
The most anticipated day of the year is Exploremore! The theme for this year is KCD Rodeo. All information you need can be found on the KCD Web site. Look for the link on the left side once you connect to the Lower School link. A very special thank you to Kimberly Jackson and Cindy McCarthy for all their hard work in preparing for this special day.

The Fourth Grade Habit Hunters teach Lower School about being inclusive
This month’s Habit Hunters are performing a skit about including others. The students had the unique idea about creating contrasting scenes for the audience. In two of the four scenes, students show how excluding others hurts peers. In the other two scenes, the performers demonstrate how being inclusive is the right choice. When you have a moment, please talk to you child about the importance of being inclusive as well as what they learned from seeing their peers perform the skit. The skits will be performed the week of April 28 and the week of May 5.

KCD has a Sister School in Tamale, Ghana
Dexter Mahaffey, KCD’s diversity coordinator, spent a week in Ghana meeting with community members from the Dahin-Sheli Primary and Junior High School and Tamale Islamic Science Secondary School. Dexter is building a relationship with these schools. To celebrate this new relationship, we are having a dress down day on Wednesday, April 30. We are also asking students to wear the diversity t-shirts they received from KCD. Here is what Dexter wrote about his experience:

We will have one more newsletter in mid-May. If there is something on your mind or you just want to chat, please do not hesitate to email me, give a call, or come by the office—my door is always open.

Chris